Tag Archives: Rafael Caldera

Oct
29
2010
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VenEconomy: Venezuela in Permanent Mourning

This article was originally posted by The Latin American Tribune

President Hugo Chávez has decreed national mourning for the death of Néstor Kirchner, the former president of the Argentine Republic, secretary general of Unasur, and, as the decree says, “his brother and comrade, his route companion.” And the purpose of this national mourning is apparently to “meditate in sorrow on the work of this immense American.”

The communiqué sings the praises of Néstor Kirchner because it was as a result of the “clear leadership, unbreakable courage, and determination of this faithful heir of the great Juan Domingo Perón that Argentina rose from the ashes to which neoliberal capitalism wanted to reduce it to once again find the place that was always reserved for it in the field of free and independent nations.”

Regardless of whether this national mourning was appropriate or not, its declaration gives food for thought.

First of all, it would have been commendable had the Chávez administration extended similar courtesies upon the death of Luis Herrera Campins (2007) and Rafael Caldera (2009), two former Venezuelan presidents who died during Chávez’s terms in office and who have earned many more credits in the struggle for the democracy and freedom of the peoples of America than Kirchner.

Not only that, thousands of Venezuelan families would also have liked to hear during the President’s constant marathon broadcasts even the slightest word of condolence for the loss of their loved ones at the hands of criminals. According to the report “A decade of impunity in Venezuela (1998-2009)” by the Venezuelan Violence Observatory (OVV), more than 120,000 Venezuelan have fallen victims to crime and Chávez has been heard to say little, not to say nothing, by way of regret for the useless loss of those lives.

Another thought that comes to mind is that this contempt for everything that does not fit in with the revolutionary context has led Chávez to want to rewrite the history not only of Venezuela but of other nations as well.

Just as today he turns a dictator such as Perón into the “great Juan Domingo Perón,” so has he tried to erase Venezuela’s historical roots and great leaders of democracy from its collective memory. That is why he has renamed squares, parks, avenues, and freeways to remove the names of the country’s leaders, as he did with Rómulo Betancourt Park, which today carries the name of Francisco de Miranda.

In short, sadly “the State has ceased to serve constitutional freedoms and guarantees in order to serve a totalitarian ideology,” as former Ambassador Diego Arria put it this Wednesday at VenEconomy’s seminar “Venezuela 2010-2012?”

 
Sep
21
2010
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Venezuela’s opposition to Hugo Chavez

This article was originally posted by Forexyard

After a terrible year for President Hugo Chavez, knocked by a deep recession, ever higher crime and electricity shortages, Venezuela’s opposition has its best shot in years to regain a national voice in an election on Sunday for a new parliament.

Polls show a tight race, with Chavez’s support at its lowest ahead of an election since he first won office almost 12 years ago. But the socialist leader still has ratings of over 40 percent and his party is favored by new electoral rules.

Winning the popular vote on Sunday would be an important symbolic victory for the opposition and embolden Chavez’s rivals ahead of presidential elections in two years. Following are some facts about opposition leaders and parties:

* Venezuela’s opposition suffers from a lack of leadership. Since Chavez took office, no lasting figure has emerged to oppose him in a country which has a history of favoring charismatic and long-lasting leaders such as former presidents Carlos Andres Perez and Rafael Caldera.

* Chavez rose to power on a wave of revulsion at Venezuela’s traditional two parties who for nearly 20 years failed to pull the country out of economic turmoil. Those parties, Democratic Action and Copei, are now a shadow of what they were when they dominated politics for 40 years.

*About 30 parties and organizations have joined the Democratic Alliance umbrella group ahead of Sunday’s vote, with a strong presence of the old guard alongside newer parties such as First Justice and A New Time.

* After years in the political wilderness, the opposition began to make gains against Chavez in 2007 when it defeated a proposed referendum that would have overhauled the constitution to deepen his revolution and scrapped presidential term limits. A year later, several opposition leaders won important states and city halls in regional elections.

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Jul
21
2010
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Chavez Says Government to Own Stake in Globovision

This article was originally published by Bloomberg Buisness Week

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the government will obtain a minority stake in opposition television network Globovision and will name a director to the company’s board.

The government closed Banco Federal CA and over the past month seized more than 20 companies held by Nelson Mezerhane, who owns a 20 percent of Globovision. One of the companies holds an additional 5.8 percent stake in Globovision, Chavez said.

Chavez has repeatedly threatened to close Globovision, the last broadcast television station that’s openly critical of the government, for what he said was its actions in support of a 2002 coup that removed him from power for several days. Globovision’s principal owners — Mezerhane and Guillermo Zuloaga — are both in the U.S. after arrest warrants were filed against them in Venezuela on various charges.

“This is going to cause an uproar in the opposition, but I was reviewing this last night and the state will hold 25.8 percent of shares from Mezerhane,” Chavez said today on state television. “We’ll defend the interest of shareholders, pure capitalism.”

Chavez said the state may receive another 20 percent of the television channel after an unidentified shareholder died. Media ownership stakes aren’t inheritable, so the stake will be transferred to the government, Chavez said.

“No one can say that we’re expropriating anything, we’re incorporating ourselves into the business,” he said.

Media Attacks

Mezerhane is accused of fleeing the country with deposits from his clients and Zuloaga is wanted on usury charges for hoarding new vehicles in his Caracas residence, according to the Attorney General. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

Chavez says that he’s unfairly criticized by private newspapers, radio broadcasters and television stations that are seeking to oust him from power. The 55-year-old former paratrooper refused to renew a broadcasting license for Radio Caracas Television in 2007, which was the most widely-viewed television network, for its criticism of the government.

The state may also revoke the license of a television network run by the Roman Catholic Church, Chavez said. Vale TV, was given to the church by former president Rafael Caldera, and should be returned to the people of Venezuela, Chavez said.

Chavez ordered a review of ties with the church and the Vatican after church leaders led by Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino criticized government policies July 14.

“Caldera gave the church hierarchy a television channel, a state channel. I want to review that to put it into the hands of the people, not the cardinal,” Chavez said.